2 yr old with lazy eye?

[madi868]

My daughter is 26 months old.  Several months ago, (maybe 6-12 months ago), I noticed that when she first wakes from sleep, her right eye seems to veer out (not straight like her other eye) some.  After about 5-10 seconds, she seems to focus and the eye is straight like normal.  I really didn't think too much about it.  She also had a hemangioma just above that eye, at the bridge of her nose, that has  gone down so much that it is not noticeable anymore (not sure if that has anything to do with it; the pediatrition said she didn't think so), but anyway,  I just happened to casualy mention the eye thing to her pediatrition 2 days ago, really not thinking it was a big deal, but she said we definately need to see a opthalmologist.  We can't get an appointment until may!  In the mean time, I'm kicking myself for not talking to the doctor when I first noticed this, and it worries me.. Can you tell me something about this?  What you think could cause this, and how likely is this to be corrected with normal vision?

Thanks

[madi868]

Yes, we live in Florida.  There only happens to be one pediatric opthalmologist in our town.  I'm going to call to see if we can possibly get in sooner.  Thanks for your help.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Your child likely has strabismus (eye muscle problems), if the eye turns out sometimes likely intermittent exotrophia. Definitely needs to see a pediatric ophthalmologist. Do you live in the USA. Can't imagine that it takes that long to see a Eye MD in the states.

Also need to be sure there are no vascular anomolies like the hemangioma IN the eye. Your child will need to be watched carefully by an Eye MD for many years.

JCH III MD